Ryner thought of his friends at they fled. He thought of Keifer and her blood fueled exit from his life. Of Milk, and her her innocent desperation to push her way to him. He looked behind him and saw Ferris sitting in the carriage, head gently bouncing off the window as the they rolled along. Passing images flitted through his mind of others - the kind other he'd met, of the magic-eyed children who never deserved what fate had cursed them with… before his thoughts finally settled on Sion, his King, ally, and Friend. Though, none of those titles were really his anymore, were they.

His friend was lost in himself.

How and why was still a mystery, but whatever now inhabited that body wasn't the idealistic harbinger of peace he'd come to know. From the rumors and misplaced, starry-eyed praises going around, Roland's Hero-King had been replaced by a war-mongering, dark-magic wielding demon who would stop at nothing to see his goals through.

What those goals were, or what had caused the switch, remained unknown. Hopefully, Ryner thought, they'd find the answers they were looking for before it was too late to return to the fragile peace they'd known for a small while.

Ferris' head bounced off the side of the carriage with a particularly hard thud as the wheel jolted over an especially aggressive pot hole in the seldom-traveled road, and Ryner tightened his grip on the reins as he fought to keep from laughing at the slew of impressive, if sleepy, cures that exploded behind him.

He didn't dare turn around, for fear of presenting an even more desirable target for the the now irate woman, but he heard and felt the carriage shift as she climbed through the window, plopping herself on the bench beside him with more grace that should ever be allowed someone as tired as he imagined her to be. Or of anyone for that matter.

He also ignored the painful glare he was sure she was pinning him with, most likely expecting an apology, and perhaps a box of accompanying dango from him as he lay prostrate, begging for the grace of her mercy.

"Like Hell." he whispered, then bit his tongue. Ferris' glare increased.

"Excuse me?" she asked, cold intimidation flashing through her eyes, making it perfectly clear she'd heard him perfectly. Ryner, eyes wide, hastily continued,

"- I'd ever think of not driving this carriage to the best of my ability, so as to not damage that fragile little head of - Ouch!" He cut off, arching away from the sword point now digging into his back. Ferris huffed, apparently satisfied with the rebuke for the time being, and stashed her sword in the cabin of the carriage behind her, closing the curtains and leaning back on her folded hands behind her head.

Ryner chanced a glance at her then, the road more than quiet enough to lack his immediate attention, and frowned slightly. Ferris really did look tired. It had been a little over a week since she'd broken him out Sion's jail, (yet another time she'd saved him), and they were both currently living on relatively short naps and even shorter stops, and even those were only for the horse's sake. To Ferris's surprise, Ryner hadn't complained more than a few times about the lack of rest he'd been getting, instead insisting she sleep just as much as he did, though that still wasn't enough for even Ferris, let alone the chronic napper that he was.

"Where are we now?" Ferris asked, looking around at the rocky, barren country-side they'd been traveling through for the past few hours. Ryner followed her gaze, glancing a little to quickly to the right and left of the carriage, a small bit of paranoia seeping into his watch.

"Not really sure. We passed the norther border of Stohl nearly twelve hours ago, and I'm not as familiar with the area as I would be with the regions of the south. We never really traveled too far north, and I never had a reason to ever leave the area before I got roped into that job. Where do you think we are?" He asked Ferris, shrugging as he allowed the trotting horse to slow to a gently walk, giving it a small break as they traveled.

"I'm in similar circumstances myself, unfortunately." Ferris replied, frowning slightly as her focus traveled the horizon, attempting to find a familiar landmark or something that would tell her where they were.

Ryner shrugged again, turning back to the front, gently tugging on the reins and bringing the horse and carriage to a stop.

"Whelp, if we don't know where we are, then anyone who's looking for us won't know where we are either. I say we stop here for the night; get some actual rest." He said, then clambered off the bench towards to horse, where he began untethering the sweaty beast.

Ferris, though visibly confused and skeptical of the logic presented her, nodded and followed suit, though she went to the rear of the carriage, where she began unpacking what meager supplies they'd managed to scrounge up as they fled Roland - a couple bedrolls and blankets, and some tough, but edible, dried meat and stale bread.

She hadn't eaten dango in over four days, a personal record. But if Ryner could hold out without naps, then she would survive without dango.

Fugitives didn't really have too many options, after all.

With the horse cared for and grazing on the sparse grass nearby, tethered to the carriage, Ryner began casting basic warding spells around their impromptu camp, laying simple traps and alert spells that would warn him if they received any unwelcome visitors. (This time he put a little more effort into it, so he wouldn't have an alarm going off in his head every time a mouse or lizard wandered over one of the sigils.)

Ferris finished unloading and placing their bedrolls, and retrieved her sword before sitting on hers, placed next to Ryner's own, gnawing at a piece of what may have once been beef as she watched her friend work. His eyes glowed a blood red as he reinforced the Roland wards with miscellaneous magics he'd picked up from other regions, making (from how he'd once explained it to her) the traps more difficult to disarm or trick.

A final fire trap finished off the lot and he shambled over to his place, flopping down onto the hard ground (the bedrolls weren't exactly thick or nice) with all the grace of a beached seal.

"Remind me to teach you a spell or two, next time you can help." He muttered, absentmindedly spitting out the loose strands of hair that had come loose of the short tail he'd drawn them back into. His hair was getting long again, like it had that first time in prison, though this time he'd helped it along himself with a rather frivolous spell he'd picked up from a salon worker in one of Roland's salons. No matter what Ferris said about it making him look like a sad stray dog, Ryner firmly stuck to the idea that it was the beginnings of a somewhat workable disguise. Of course, if Ferris had agreed to let him dye her hair… but all she'd done to try and hide was change outfits, into the white and blue number she was wearing now, which matched his own current style quite nicely, if she did say so.

And she did say so, so there.

Ferris looked at the downed man, eyebrow raised.

"You really think I would have any talent in magic?" She asked skeptically, glancing around at the fading glow of the most recent seals as they faded into the earth. Ryner closed his eyes and shrugged.

"I don't know, I've never really cared too much about who can and who can't actually pull it off. I've always just kinda gone with it." He rolled over (too much effort on his part, he thought with a silent huff) to look at the sitting swords-woman, who sighed, shaking her head.

"Of course you wouldn't. I don't know what I was expecting. How could I ever imagine you putting that much thought into anything?" She asked, a slight smirk on her face now as she finished off the last of her jerky, handing a second piece to her companion, who snatched it from her hand with a scowl and a muttered "thanks".

Ryner eyed the elderly tidbit, though his mind was wandering around on a different plane entirely.

"I wonder if I'd even be able to teach someone magic." He muttered to the meat. "I mean, I didn't exactly learn the conventional way..." He tilted it back and forth. Ferris pulled out her sword and whetstone, running it along the edge as she listened to Ryner's murmurings, used to the man talking to himself like he'd taken to do in the later part of their quest. She'd intervene if he got to morbid or deep, but it seemed to help him work through his thoughts, and if she was honest with herself, she was happy he was comfortable enough around her to think aloud.

Ferris looked up as Ryner stood and began pacing, his ramblings getting too soft and convoluted to follow any longer. She shrugged, and continued her work, watching him out of the corner of her eye. He would pace back and forth along the perimeter he'd created, stopping every so often to examine one of his seals (she could tell, because it'd light up and glow white gold until he moved onto the next one), before huffing, audible even from where she was sitting, and resuming his pacing, until the cycle repeated. This continued for about ten minutes, and as she sheathed her sword, content with its condition, Ryner returned to his previous prone position on the barely passable cushion.

"Well?" she asked, watching with some relief as he finally began chewing on the piece of meat he'd left behind when he stood. She'd noticed his lack of dietary enthusiasm as they fled north, the stress and loss affecting both his appetite and mood, not that she could blame him.

Ryner sighed.

"I've never actually tried to understand magic from a, well, normal standpoint." He grimaced, and turned onto his stomach. "Doubt I'd have bother learning magic if I had to do it the hard way." He groaned into the cushion, Ferris barely able to make put the muffled words. She did hear them though, and had to cover her mouth so he wouldn't hear just how hard she laughed. No, she thought, you'd be much happier lazing the day away, in a modest home, fire burned down to coals in the hearth, maybe a wife making a hearty dinner as her good-for-nothing husband lazed around...

Ferris shook her head, wondering where that train of thought had sprung from.

"Well, we should have a couple hours we can rest before we have to keep moving. You should sleep. I'll keep watch." Ferris said, re-arranging herself so she was leaning against a nearby boulder, making it so she had a clear view of the road in both directions. Ryner flipped over again and raised an eyebrow at her.

"You are aware waking me up will be impossible if I sleep for less than fifteen hours a nap, right?" He questioned, a smile tugging at his mouth as he fought it. Ferris shrugged, deliberately shifting her sword from its place leaning against the rock to her lap, smirking.

"I'm sure I'll find a way." She said, patting the sheath meaningfully. Ryner's smile fled, and he rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sure you will. Good night, you she-devil." And with that, he closed his eyes, a small grin returning as he faded to sleep.

Ferris waited a few minutes until his breathing had evened out before she stood and made her way over to the carriage with a frown, opening the small storage compartment in the back and looking at the meager supplies inside.

"Nearly gone..." she whispered to herself, keeping quiet just in case Ryner was faking his nap, unlikely though that was. At their current rate, they'd be out of food within the next two days. Thankfully they didn't have to worry about fresh water, Ryner knew multiple water spells that would work just fine, same with warmth by fire spells. Food, however, had to be obtained one of three ways. Either legally buying it, hunting it, or stealing it. And with their current status as fugitives and total lack of funds, along with the sparse and lifeless surroundings, that only left one option, and loathe though she was to embrace it, she knew Ryner would refuse flat out.

Which meant it was up to her to get them both food.

The nearest town was nearly an hour's ride behind her, and though there may have been something ahead of them, she wasn't going to chance the ride there just to be disappointed, or ambushed. She would ride as hard as the horse was able, take what she could carry, and return before Ryner woke up. Hopefully his wards were skilled enough to alert him if something did happen.

She knew what she was doing was stupid. Every instinct she had was telling her not to leave him alone, to take him with her. They could carry more, they could watch each other's backs. Ryner would get over it if he knew just how desperate the situation had the potential to become... but that was just the problem. Ryner didn't know. Ferris had decided to keep their supply status abstract and positive, convincing him to let her do the rationing, claiming better knowledge and skill in keeping his "perverted little hands away from the untainted meat", and reassuring him that they had more than enough to keep going.

Which, really, was stupid of her, she knew. But he had enough on his mind without the added burden of where his next meal would be coming from.

With a swift nod to herself, she mentally went over her plan once more, before making her way towards the tethered horse.

Ferris felt the heat coming from behind her before she even registered the glow or tingling under her feet. She leaped back, drawing her sword reflexively before she turned to face the source of the flames. Ryner's wide-eyed surprise caught her by surprise and she hesitated a moment, before putting two together and stomping on the four, who spluttered, now face-down in the dirt.

"Gah – Jeeze, Ferris, what the hell?" Ryner gasped, trying and failing to roll out from under her boot.

"Excuse me?" She asked, "I think I'm the one who should receive an explanation. Care to enlighten me of the rationale concerning the recent fireball to my head?" She ground her toe a little harder into his back before lifting her foot and backing away, sheathing her sword. Ryner flipped over, back onto the cushion he'd abandoned, and looked up at her.

"Well, I think you should explain why you were trying to leave. The wards went off, and now we know the best way to wake me up apparently. Speaking of which," He sat up. "You couldn't even let me sleep for more than an hour, could you."

Ferris blushed. Her brother would have had her head for forgetting something as simple as a warding perimeter. Speaking of which,

"Why didn't the horse set off the wards, but I did? It's been meandering through them since they were set." Ferris asked, watching said horse do exactly that as it searched for a more suitable tuft of grass than the one it'd been munching on before.

"I'd never sleep if the stupid things went off every time a mouse ran across. I set it to only detect humans and the more adventurous animals. And you still need to answer the question." He said, rising to his feet and rolling up his mat. Ferris bit her lip, still warring with herself whether or not to tell him anything. The budding sentimental side of her won out, small though it was.

"I wanted to scout the area a bit, see if I could figure out our position. It will do no good if the next bit of civilization we run into is the capital city of whatever forsaken place we've ended up in. We're trying to lie low, you know." She lied, hoping it was convincing enough. Apparently, based on Ryner's absentminded nod and lack of rebuttal, it was. Finally noticing exactly what he was doing, Ferris frowned.

"And why are you packing up? We have more time before we need to move. Loathe though I am to dare say it, you need some rest."

Ryner laughed a little, but continued tying his bedding up, then walked over to the carriage, climbing up to tie it to the roof.

"I'll be fine sleeping in the carriage for a while – it's your turn to drive, and this place isn't really doing the horse much good as a rest stop. There's hardly anything for her to eat, and the stuff that there is isn't doing her any favors. We'll water her, and then I think we should get moving. We can go a little slower, make it easier on her, but we need to find some nicer grazing." He said as he climbed back down and sent a small blast of energy into an already impressive pot hole on the side of the road, making it deeper and wider, before he filled it with a minor water spell, petting the beast's neck as she drank.

Ferris frowned, but bundled up and stored her bedroll as well, then made a quick sweep of their impromptu campsite, kicking the dirt and brush haphazardly across the small clearing, hiding any evidence of their short stop.

Ryner hooked the horse back up to the carriage before he walked back to the middle of the now disguised clearing, holding up his hands in either direction as he deactivated the wards. Ferris climbed onto the bench and watched as his eyes glowed in sync with the now visible markings on the ground, then faded.

Ryner rubbed his eyes as he walked back, climbing up beside her on the bench, rather than getting into the cabin, leaning on the seat's back. Ferris looked at him questioningly, but when he just grinned a little at her, she rolled her eyes, and got them moving.

"You know," she said, deciding that since he'd decided to stay awake, they might as well talk, "you never did tell me if you were going to teach me anything." She said, smirking slightly at him. He returned the favor.

"No, I suppose I didn't. Of course, you never really expressed any interest in being taught, now did you."

Ferris shrugged.

"I've never really seen the point in learning magic. My family has always lived by the sword, and to be honest, I'm faster than nearly any mage who gets in my way. Why bother reciting some long winded spell when I can slice their hands off in half the time?"

Ryner opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it and closed it, so Ferris continued.

"Of course, I barely had time to react to that fireball you summoned earlier. Playing around with silent spells now, are we?" She asked, trying to hide her curiosity. In the time she'd known him, Ryner had progressed from the unwilling sidekick needed protection to the ally and equal in battle she'd always known him capable of, but the exact mechanics of magic hadn't been of any concern of hers. As it was, her current questioning was more out of need for understanding Ryner, than understanding his magic.

"Well, that was just a reaction. A sad little fireball without a circle or incantation – weak as they come, really." Ryner replied, rubbing the back of his head as he continued. "Probably wouldn't have done more than singe a few hairs or something." Ferris turned back to road, contemplative.

"Is this something any mage can pull off?" She asked, suddenly more wary of mages in general. If they could pull of sneaky magic like that, they as a whole rose just a bit higher in threat level.

Ryner shook his head.

"No, I've heard of one or two people who could do them silently, but never of anyone else who could do it without a circle. And I didn't even bother trying it myself until I had a rather impressive stint of time to myself to play around a bit."

Ferris nodded, wondering how she would've passed the two years in a cell he'd endured. Definitely not written a giant proposition for peace and infinite naps.

"Well, that's good then." She said, hopping off the seat a little as they passed over a rough bit of road. Ryner raised an eyebrow.

"What's good? That we know one more way I'm a freak?"

Ferris rolled her eyes and whacked the back of his head with her free hand.

"No. But we can use you skill to our advantage in a fight. There's a lot you can do with stealth on your side." She replied, as Ryner rubbed his much abused skull. "Although," she continued. "You do bring up a good question."

Ryner lowered his hand and squinted at her.

"What."

"We need to figure out what that pink-haired bastard was going on about. The one with the trio of fragments, he kept saying you weren't a regular Alpha Stigma bearer. Do you know what he meant?" She asked softly, treading lightly on the subject. Ryner shook his head.

"Still no idea. Did anyone ever tell you what happened with the other Gastarkian? The one with the lightning beasts?" He asked in return, thinking back to the fight – Ferris had been knock out right before he'd been able to fight off the influence of one of those dammed shards. Ferris thought back.

"Hmm, now that I think about it, I don't believe I've ever asked. I just assumed you and Luke fought him off."

Ryner nodded.

"Well, we did do that. But he had one of those crystals, like the other one did."

Ferris' eyes went wide, but she didn't say anything, letting Ryner finish. If the light wielding Gastarkian had used the crystal...

"I don't know how, but when he used it, I was able to resist the Alpha Stigma." Ryner said. Ferris did gasp this time, turning to look at her companion. She may not have known a lot about magic in general, but she knew enough to know what he'd just told her should've been impossible.

Ryner just nodded, not looking at her.

"Yeah. Still not sure why. But he took off after that. Luke almost had him with that weird string thing of his, but before he ran, he called me the Solver of all Formulas."

"Do you know what he meant?"

"Not a clue."

Ferris nodded, thinking about what she'd just been told.

"Well, this is good. We have an actual lead now. No more aimless wandering."

Ryner laughed.

"Ah great, there goes all my aimless wandering nap time. To think I was just getting the hang of sleeping less that a day at a time."

Ferris hit his arm.

"We'll need to actually find out where we are. Depending on how alert the next town seems, I may have to allow that disguise you were talking about."

Ryner laughed.

"All right! My time as an artist has finally come! My skill will be applauded throughout the – Ow!"

Ferris hit him again.